In the present document, the term aircraft pilot is understood to mean the pilot or copilot, as well as any person potentially participating in the piloting of an aircraft which occurs in the cockpit in order to assist the pilot and/or copilot in piloting operations or functions related to specific characteristics of the aircraft in question. A pilot and a copilot are usually required for commercial flights transporting passengers or goods. However, in military aircraft, a third person may be called upon to sit in the cockpit depending on the mission of the aircraft.
Aircraft comprising a pressurized fuselage are normally equipped with an emergency system which allows supplying oxygen to the occupants of the aircraft in case of depressurization. In an aircraft designed for transporting passengers, there is a cockpit in which are seated the pilot, copilot, and possibly other passengers who are generally members of the crew, and there is a cabin in which the passengers are travelling. There are clear regulatory requirements concerning the emergency oxygen supply system for passengers. Therefore, at least two systems for distributing oxygen in an emergency are found on board an aircraft intended for passenger transport, a first one for the personnel in the cockpit, and a second one for the passengers traveling in the cabin and for the crew on commercial planes.
Documents EP-0 763 466 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,415 disclose an aircraft cabin provided with an emergency oxygen supply system comprising an oxygen mask for each passenger in the cabin. According to the document, the oxygen masks are placed within a service unit which is added to the passenger seat in the form of a column placed on the side of the seat. Document FR 2 753 170 discloses a cabin configuration having seats which can convert into a small bed, and a compartment accommodating an oxygen mask that is integrated into the seats.
The field of the present invention relates to an aircraft cockpit, and in particular to a pilot seat and to supplying the seat with oxygen. As mentioned above, it also relates to the seat of a copilot and the seat of a potential third crew member.
The emergency oxygen supply system for the cockpit occupants conventionally consists of one or more oxygen bottles, oxygen masks, and a circuit connecting the bottles to the masks. The oxygen bottles are sometime installed directly in the cockpit of the aircraft, but more often they are located in an avionics bay under the cockpit. The oxygen masks are stored near the seats of the pilot and of the copilot. They can be found for example in the areas to the right and left of the pilot, commonly referred to as “consoles”. One oxygen mask is thus found to the left of the pilot and another one to the right of the copilot. A circuit generally comprising rigid lines and flexible lines ensures the delivery of oxygen to the occupants of the cockpit. This circuit also includes elements for regulating the flow and pressure of the oxygen delivered to the oxygen masks.
Such an oxygen supply system is complex and is therefore expensive as well. It goes without saying that this system requires a certain amount of space and sometimes represents a barrier to the passage of other lines.
In addition, it should be noted that the position of the oxygen mask requires that space be reserved for it in the middle of the avionics systems. The need to provide storage space for the masks places constraints on the design of the cockpit. The lateral position of the oxygen mask relative to the pilot and the copilot, even though this mask is located in the immediate proximity of its potential user, is not necessarily the optimal position in terms of ergonomics. For example, a right-handed pilot will have to grasp the oxygen mask with his left hand.